The present invention relates to permanent mold casting machines, and more specifically to increasing the productivity of a casting machine using a particular modularization that facilitates the use of multiple molds in one machine.
It is known to use a casting machine having a casting mold to make cast articles. Examples of cast articles include aluminum pistons and wheels, and various plastic pieces used in a wide variety of industries. The casting mold typically has two or more mold sections, such as for example a first mold half and an second hold half. When the first mold half and the second hold half are placed together, they define a cavity. The cavity is in the general shape of the cast articles to be produced. A fill material, such as metal or plastic is inserted (e.g., poured) into the cavity and allowed to cool. The first mold half and the second hold half can then be separated from each other, leaving the cast article.
Various motive devices (such as hydraulic actuators, motor drives, and servo-mechanisms) are used on casting machines for moving mold sections into place and then retracting them, for tilting the machine to improve flow of the fill material, for removing finished articles, and for other purposes. These devices each include a mechanical actuator portion (e.g., a hydraulic cylinder) and a motive power supply portion (e.g., an electrically-controlled valve and fluid supply lines feeding the hydraulic cylinder). For complicated articles using multiple mold sections and complex processing, the number of motive devices can become quite large on a single casting machine and can occupy a significant amount of space.
In order to speed cooling of fill material in a mold and sometimes to control the cooling rate, cooling channels carrying cooling fluid are deployed within and/or around the mold. Control valves mounted on the casting machine turn fluid flow on and off and/or modulate the flow to provide the desired cooling profile.
The casting machine typically includes a programmable controller having operating instructions that govern movement of the mold sections, filling of the cavity with the fill material, tilting of the machine, and the like. The controller is generally relatively expensive and is dedicated for use with a single casting machine. In normal operation, a casting machine is subject to xe2x80x9cdown timexe2x80x9d due to a variety of causes, resulting in a period of non-productivity. This non-productivity results in the dedicated controller also being unused, and represents a waste of the capital invested in the controller. Furthermore, the dedicated controller is typically mounted to the casting machine itself, using up more of the limited space available in a single machine.
Due to the space and packaging requirements of all the various components of a casting machine, the prior art has severe limitations in the number and arrangement of molds that can be supported in a single casting machine. Furthermore, the close spacing and crowded arrangement of components makes maintenance of the components more difficult and costly.
The present invention has the advantages of reduced cost and improved performance as a result of a modularized architecture and remote placement of certain portions of the casting system.
In on primary aspect, the invention provides a casting system having a frame. A casting module is supported on the frame and is adapted to receive a plurality of molds for casting articles from a fill material according to a casting process. The casting module includes first motive actuators for moving at least portions of the molds during the casting process. An accessories module is supported on the frame and comprises at least one accessory device and second motive actuators for selectably positioning the accessory device in relation to the casting module. A utility module is located remotely from the frame and comprises motive power supplies coupled to the first and second actuators. The utility module also comprises a programmable controller coupled to the motive power supplies for controlling the casting process.